4 February 2013: The Economics of Land Degradation (ELD) initiative has called for information on existing case studies regarding the benefits of sustainable land management (SLM) and/or the costs of land degradation, and has called for proposals for new case studies to be commissioned by the initiative.

The existing case studies will be referenced on an ELD website map and used in presentations, and are requested by 15 March 2013.

The proposals for new case studies to be commissioned by the ELD initiative should be submitted by 31 March 2013. These proposals will be evaluated according to, inter alia: scientific quality and “value for money;” use of top-down or bottom-up approaches; use of non-market valuations, as well as market valuations; and consideration of land rehabilitation, prevention of land degradation and alternative livelihoods for action.

The ELD initiative evolved from a meeting in December 2010, during which representatives of more than 30 organizations met in Bonn, Germany, to advance the formation of a global alliance. Its work has been undertaken with support from the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), the European Commission (EC) and the German Federal Government through the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ). A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between core partners – the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), UNCCD and the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) – was signed on the occasion of the 10th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNCCD, in Changwon, Republic of Korea. [ELD Call for Proposals for New Case Studies] [ELD call for Existing Case Studies] [Land Policy & Practice story about the Launch of the ELC Initiative]